How many points up to call the dogs off?

[rgrowall]

Don't shame the kid on the other team, whatever the other coach does is between two adults, but don't teach him a lesson by showing up his kids. invite him behind the bus and square things.

don't hurt kids

[Coach Huey]

our objectives:

1) play to win the game -- do what it takes to insure a victory
2) if #1 is in hand -- play the 2's to get them game experience running the offense & to avoid an injury to a starter
3) if #1 & #2 are met -- play the others. they will probably only know or be able to adequately execute the base plays anyway. basically, your just getting them on the field as a reward for what they do for the team (hard work, scout team, etc.)

as far as an actual number or point spread -- that may depend on several factors:
* time remaining
* quick-strike or scoring ability of our opponent
* what they are doing vs the subs to create a quick turnover (3 & out) that may prevent us from running an adequate amount of time off the clock

[tenthehardway]

First half: let'er rip.
2nd half: 45 points

[runtheball86]

Starters in the first half and the first series of the second half ....

[Deleted]

Sonny Lubick tells the story of when he first took over at CSU and they were a very "down" program. They were playing Nebraska and getting crushed, like 63-3. Sonny knew Tom Osborne well and pretty soon a guy in a red jacket and a big N on it was standing next to Sonny on the sidelines. It was a manager from Nebraska. He leaned to Sonny and said, "Coach Osborne says they're just going to run weakside Iso and strongside power the rest of the way." Sonny looked at the kid and said, "Thanks, and tell Coach Osborne that we won't stop it any better than we did in the first half."

Our head coach is an unfailingly fair man. This fall we won games by an average margin of 44-6 and we have about 80 varsity kids. Yet only in 2 games, the semis and the championship, did we not play every single player who was dressed out and eligible to play. The semis was only a 21 point victory and we only got to the #2's and the championship was less than a touchdown.

Now those kids way down the depth chart didn't play a ton in every game, but we worked it where kids got in and it didn't compromise our standing in the game. Yes, in 6 of those games we had shutouts going when we subbed, but our kids had a lot of good turns. Now that we've graduated 20 starters off a state title team, we know that a lot of our kids have played against our opponents' #1's.

As for a specific number, hey, I let the head coach worry about that. Tell me to start subbing and I will. And the guy I work for has it timed just about right. We could've hung 80-90 points a few times this season (ahead in one game 41-0 after one play of the 2nd quarter) and had to struggle to keep it slow.

[coachcalande]

my favorite markham quote " i didnt even know the score, ...i thought we were still in the 3rd quarter" when asked about scoring a number of pts on someone.

[easternkycoach]

My thoughts have always been a loss is a loss, whether it is by 6 or 60 does not matter.

[knighter]

Been on both sides of the fence. Lost several in my first 4 years as a head coach badly, and won a few lopsided as well. At this job (6 years) we have won the majority of games, and have had numerous chances to name the score (scored 80, 70, 60's and 50's several times). This is what I think our philosophy is...

#1 Starters will play entire first half, and first series both ways of 2nd half. Points do not matter (yet they do, as points dictate my play calling if we are up big.Won't call a homerun play if up by a ton)
#2 I will sub if up big (even if the coach across the field does not). If he sees that we have subbed, and subs we play that way, if not, I may sub varisty back in if the JV kids are getting banged up pretty decent.
#3 If the guy across the field does not sub, I will call a homerun play or 2 to try to get his attention.
#4 I have to protect my kids first, and if your varisty is beating up on my JV (as several guys have mentioned) I have to go back to the starters.

perfect example...2nd year here.

We are up big, I sub after first series after half. Opposing coach leaves defensive starters is the game, we go 3 plays for minus 14 yards and punt. No big deal. I put JV defensive unit in, we hold them, they punt and we run starters BACK out onto the field. We lineup in our formation and I call a timeout and run a brand new 11 in (so opposing coach can see that we have subbed). He does not sub after we run a play for -3 yards. I call another TO and tell the D Coordinator (opposing) that he has one more snap with my JV's to get his JV's in. We run another play for negative 4 yards. I call my 3rd TO and run 11 starters back on the field, tell the d coordinator he had his chance. We run a counter for a 68 yard TD to end the game at 50-0 (mercy rule at the time). This was on THEIR homecoming. AD and head coach are cussing me out after the game, wrote letters to the editor of OUR newspaper calling for my head etc. (they had some parents write them too). What can a guy do, my JV consisted of mainly freshmen and sophomores who were TINY and they just lined up all the guys in the box and blitzed everyone. Needless to say I am not the most popular guy in that town to this day. They still hold a major grudge, but we have beaten the handily every year we have played them (and have only alowed 14 points in 4 games).

[Deleted]

I understand, Knighter. I too have been on both sides of it as a DC. We'll get way up on someone and I will keep the calls vanilla with the younger kids expecting the other team to sub and we'll finish it off. But two years ago we were up about 48-0 after an INT return for TD and I subbed down and the other guy started to sub. I got to my #3's and it must have sparked him because his starters were back in against our #3's. I figured, "hey, if he wants to score so bad it doesn't hurt my feelings, but he'll earn it now." I kept the #3's in but started to bring a little heat at his QB who eventually through into coverage, a sophomore safety playing corner (just so he could get in) picked it and returned it for a TD in the last few minutes. In the paper the next day were quotes by the opposing coach that we kept blitzing to the very end and ran the score up. Hey buddy, we scored the last two TDs on passes you threw to us!

[knighter]

irish

funny you say that. 2 years ago in a game we won 80-6 (we were 52 at half) our last 3 scores in the first half were on DEFENSE (fumble return, and 2 INT's returned). I consulte with the official on my sideline and told him...

#1 Tell opposing coach we are going to run traps and wedgs only on offense so stack the middle.
#2 Tell him to STOP throwing the football, as I can't tell my kids to not intercept it.

My JV closed it out against their varsity team. He did not sub, but they were just BAD (really bad). My JV would have beat them (their varsity) straight up by 45 or more.

[donaldduck]

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